Excerpts from article written in the Washington CITY PAPER March 27, 2012
However antiquated the once common eatery freebies now seem, the things are an essential part of Smith & Co.'s branding. Every table at your local Matchbox Restaurant Group location, for example, is embedded with the [match] boxes as part of the decor. You'll find all sort of themes including Elvis, Hello Kitty, and Star Wars, among others.
Perry Smith, a principal partner of Matchbox Food Group says the company spends thousands of dollars on the logo-emblazoned complimentary flame starters..."And customers usually just don’t nab one, they literally grab handfuls of them. ... we go through thousands of them a year”... Smith says. "That’s what people expect. It’s probably our best form of advertising for what we do.”
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REASONS WHY match ADVERTISING SHOULD PAY YOU WELL! Reprint of Match Corp. of America match salesman's promotional flyer for selling Advertising Matches from 1961.
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Words of wisdom, circa 1961 that are still relevant to this day! "Every Light Exposes Your Message... Twice Per Light when you advertise on the outside cover and the inside cover" Repetition! -gives your message hard hitting impact that builds sales -and profits!
Order your business' branded advertising matches from TheMatchGroup so that you can experience the hard hitting impact that will increase your sales and profits. Call one of our expert "match mavens" now at 800.605.7331.
Where Did the Term "Three on a Match" Originate that implies that it's bad luck to light three wooden tapers or cigarettes with one match from a match box?
THREE ANSWERS:
1) Three is the symbol of the Holy Trinity.
To make mundane use of a match was to defile its sanctity and to transgress holy scripture. Man would invite disaster and put himself into the power of the 'evil one.' Thus, the use of a single match or lit wooden taper, would light the fires of Hell for one's own soul.
2) Self-protection in time of war.
The superstition first arose among British troops during the Crimean War. British soldiers, entrenched against Dutch foes in the Boer War, learned by bitter experience of the danger of lighting three cigarettes from one match. When the men thriftily used one match to serve three of them, they gave the Boer Sniper time to spot the light, take aim and fire to kill 'the third man'.
3) Ivar Kreuger, the President of The Swedish Match Company who was known as the 'match king', certainly did not create the term or the superstition surrounding it, as it has been alleged back in the 1930's. But he certainly exploited the term to promote sales for his company's matches! He surmised that most people, innately thrifty, were not using enough of his matches through their habit of conserving them by using a single match to light multiple candles, cigarettes, etc. After his successful campaign perpetuating the superstition of the wartime precaution and it's association with the mortal consequences of using just one match, he earned millions of pounds of profit for his company by greatly increasing sales of his Swedish Matches.
There was also a famous movie Three on a Match
That was based upon the story of three friends from childhood, Mary, Ruth, and Vivian, who meet again as young adults after some time apart. They each light a cigarette from the same match and discuss the superstition that such an act is unlucky and that Vivian, the last to light her cigarette, will be the first to die.
Make sure to load up and avoid the curse of THREE ON A MATCH by buying your own batch of branded matches for your business from TheMatchGroup or call one of our experienced "match makers" at 800.605.7331.
"Admit it. You’ve nabbed a few match books or matchboxes as souvenirs from restaurants over the years. I know I have, and I’ve never been a smoker. It’s good to hear they’re coming back from the brink."
"Because, hey, you never know when you might need to light the pilot light in your water heater."
[or a candle, or birthday candles, or a Bar-b-Que grill, or for use by your guests' as a Bathroom "air freshener"!]
Call us when you're ready to place your restaurant's branded match book or match box order! TheMatchGroup; or call one of our expert advertising "match makers" at 800.605.7331
Great Feature from the New York Times 10/20/2009 re. The Renaissance of Match Advertising!
In the face of many cities' anti smoking enforcement "...match boxes serve as the finishing touch on an ambience calculated to dislocate the present tense." says Dona Savitsky, a former smoker, who is the owner of the retro themed restaurant FLORA located in Oakland, CA.
"Savitzsky's experience is echoed by a number of restaurateurs across the country, who concur that matches may be experiencing a fragile renaissance as the dining world’s freebie of choice and its most cost-effective and appealing advertising vehicle."
"Ms. Savitsky confirms that only a fraction of Flora’s matchboxes are taken for their ostensible purpose. Their overriding utility, aside from lighting the odd candle, is promotional: “They go out into the world, and they bring people back.”
"A Chicago spot, 33 Club, named for the year Prohibition was repealed, opened in August without matches, but that’s only because Jerry Kleiner, the restaurateur, is perfecting the design. “When they’re done right, they’re a piece of art,” said Mr. Kleiner, who envisions an oversize blue and gold-leaf matchbox bearing a crest and the 33 Club logo.
Mr. Kleiner operates eight other restaurants in the area, none of which has matches. “We had them till the antismoking thing happened and they fizzled out,” he said. “But I think I’m going to bring them back.”
To place your order for your business' branded match books or match boxes GoTo: TheMatchGroup or call one of our expert matchmakers at TheMatchGroup 800.605.7331 or email: Strike@getmatches.com
